Leesburg Taekwondo Students Win 13 Junior Olympics Medals

Large letters spell "HOME OF DISCIPLINE" above athletes who kick, stretch and bow, practicing discipline and respect, building strength and skill, and working to win. Students at the U.S. Tae Kwon Do Martial Arts Academy in Leesburg train beneath bold messages that leave no room for confusion: "YOUR GOAL IS TO BE A BLACK BELT" and "THIS IS A BLACK BELT SCHOOL."

Twelve students from the U.S. Tae Kwon Do Martial Arts Academy, ages 5 to 17, competed at the 2009 Junior Olympic and National Championships in Austin from June 30 to July 3. Each participant had placed first in his or her category at the state championships, and the team brought back 13 medals from Austin.

Grand Master Eunggil Choi, who moved from Korea to the United States in 1982 and opened his academy in Leesburg in 1987, said he is proud of his students, who brought back more medals than any other taekwondo school in Virginia. Choi is president of the Virginia State Tae Kwon Do Association.

Choi's son John, 26, who coached the team at the Junior Olympics, said his goal was to bring 10 medals home, one more than the team won at the national competition in Detroit last year. With the unexpected haul of 13 medals, including five gold, Choi said, "next year we'll just have to top that."

Jackson Carawan, 5, won three of those 13 medals in board breaking, forms and sparring. When his coach asked him to state the purpose of taekwondo, Jackson stood in his too-big white uniform wrapped with a red belt and obediently responded: "To protect yourself, to protect your family, to protect your country."

Jackson spoke softly and twisted his hands bashfully in embarrassment. "When he is sparring, though, he is like a Hulk man," Grand Master Choi said. John Choi added, "He is a beast in the ring."

The Junior Olympics demanded a lot from the Leesburg competitors, including extreme focus and extreme measures to make the cut in their categories.

For example, Tony Lo, 16, and Alan Whang, 16, competed in sparring for the 16- to 17-year-old black belt division. To ensure that they did not have to compete against each other, they had to qualify for different weight brackets.

"I had to focus on losing a few pounds," Lo said. "Alan and I were really close in weight." He wrapped himself in a trash bag and ran laps in the Texas heat and humidity around the Austin Convention Center, where the competitions were held, losing four pounds.

Alessandra Riederer, 16, and her sister Lizzie, 14, are black belts, and each returned with medals from the Junior Olympics. Their parents encouraged them to start martial arts so they would learn self-defense, but the sisters said the experience has taught them more than they had expected, including confidence, respect and discipline.

Stacey Riederer, 41, said her daughters tried other martial arts but did not connect with any the way they connect with taekwondo. "We moved here six years ago, and I haven't been able to get them out of that place since," she said. "We walked in thinking we'd be there for two classes a week, and we're there seven days a week. It has really become a part of our family."

Whang, who won first place in sparring, said the other students at the academy are like brothers and sisters to him. "If I didn't have taekwondo, I wouldn't be the person I am today," he said. "When I was 7, my father passed away. This kept me concentrating. Grand Master Choi is like a father to me."

Although the students are proud of their medals, they are evaluating how they can improve. Next month, several will travel to South Korea to compete in the Mayor's Cup in Samcheok City, in the region where Grand Master Choi began to study taekwondo at age 2.

"To give up is not in our DNA," John Choi said. But the students, not the medals, matter most to him, he said. "These guys are what we're most proud of. These guys are our showcase."